U.S. patent application number 10/369046 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-02 for roof anchor method and apparatus.
Invention is credited to Poldmaa, Arvo.
Application Number | 20030182893 10/369046 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 3823480 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030182893 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Poldmaa, Arvo |
October 2, 2003 |
Roof anchor method and apparatus
Abstract
A method is provided for mounting a roof anchor (10) on a roof
support structure (30) having an underside surface (32), the roof
fully or partially covered with roof covering material (39), the
roof anchor (10) including an attachment means (12) and a shaft
(14), the method including the steps of: a) making a first hole
(50) in the covering material (39) and the roof support structure
(30), which first hole (50) is capable of receiving the shaft (14);
b) forming an aperture (38) in the covering material (39) adjacent
the first hole (50) and the roof support structure (30); c)
inserting an anchor block (20), having a second hole (22) capable
of fixedly engaging the shaft (14), through the aperture (38) and
locating the anchor block (20) at the underside surface (32) such
that the first and second holes (50, 22) are in registry; and d)
inserting the shaft (14) through both the first and second holes
(50, 22) whereby to fixedly engage the roof anchor (10) to the
anchor block (20), such that the roof anchor (10) is mounted on the
roof support structure (30).
Inventors: |
Poldmaa, Arvo; (Hawks Nest,
AU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD L.L.P.
ONE COMMERCE SQUARE
2005 MARKET STREET, SUITE 2200
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103-7013
US
|
Family ID: |
3823480 |
Appl. No.: |
10/369046 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10369046 |
Feb 19, 2003 |
|
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PCT/AU01/01013 |
Aug 15, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/745.21 ;
52/698; 52/749.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D 13/12 20130101;
E04G 5/041 20130101; A62B 35/0068 20130101; E04G 21/3276 20130101;
H01Q 1/1221 20130101; E04G 21/3261 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/745.21 ;
52/749.12; 52/698 |
International
Class: |
E04B 001/38; E04C
005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 15, 2000 |
AU |
PQ 9422 |
Claims
1. A method for mounting a roof anchor on a roof support structure
having an underside surface, the roof fully or partially covered
with roof covering material, the roof anchor including an
attachment means and a shaft, the method including the steps of: a)
Making a first hole in the covering material and the roof support
structure, which first hole is capable of receiving the shaft; b)
Forming an aperture in the cover material adjacent the fist hole
and the roof support structure; c) Inserting an anchor block,
having a second hole capable of fixedly engaging the shaft, through
the aperture and locating the anchor block at the underside surface
such that the first and second holes are in registery; and d)
Inserting the shaft through both the first and second holes whereby
to fixedly engage the roof anchor to the anchor block, such that
the roof anchor is mounted on the roof support structure.
2. The method according to claim 1, including carrying out step c)
using an elongate hand tool to control the orientation of the
anchor block.
3. The method according to claim 2, including swivelling the anchor
block relative to the hand tool to insert the anchor block trough
the aperture in one orientation and swivelling the anchor block to
a second orientation after the anchor block has cleared the
aperture.
4. An elongate hand tool and anchor block combination for use in
mounting the roof anchor according to the method defined in claim
1.
5. The combination according to claim 4, wherein the hand tool is
adapted to control the orientation of the anchor block.
6. The combination according to claim 4, wherein the hand tool
includes a handle and an elongate rod capable of supporting the
anchor block at the free end of the elongate rod.
7. The combination according to claim 6, wherein the elongate rod
includes a hook end adapted to suspend the anchor block.
8. The combination according to claim 6, wherein the anchor block
includes a pivot hole for loosely receiving the free end of the rod
to allow the anchor block to freely rotate about the free end.
9. The combination according to claim 8, wherein the pivot hole is
located at a point which is at a centre of balance of the anchor
block and the anchor block assumes an orientation suitable to
facilitate its placement against the underside surface.
10. The combination according to claim 6, wherein the rod
terminates in a portion extending in a direction transverse to a
main portion of the rod connected to the handle.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a Continuation of International
Application No. PCT/AU01/01013, filed Aug. 15, 2001, which was
published in the English language on Feb. 21, 2002, under
International Publication No. WO 02/14625 A1 and the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to roof anchors for attaching
devices, apparatus or equipment to a roof support structure and,
more particularly, to a method or apparatus for installing a roof
anchor to the structure. The devices, apparatus or equipment to be
attached may include roof mounted fittings such as water heaters or
solar panels, safety equipment such as a safety harnesses, ropes or
other safety devices adapted to secure a roof worker, such as a
safety barrier or fence.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Conventional roof anchoring devices require access to a roof
support structure such as a purlin or rafter. Direct access to the
support structure is generally required and involves mounting the
roof anchor prior to the application of the external covering of
the roof such as tiles, sarking or sheeting so that, on application
of the external covering to the support structure, the roof anchor
extends proud of the external covering.
[0004] If the external covering has already been applied to the
roof support structure, then at least one unit of the external cove
such as a tile or singular sheet must be removed to provide access
to the roof support so. Where part of the external covering must be
removed to provide access to the roof support structure, such as
for example will be the case for a completed building to which
repairs, improvements or renovations are required, this may be
impractical or inconvenient. For example, where large units of
sheeting form the external covering of the roof, considerable time
and effort may need to be expended to remove a single unit to an
access to the roof support structure.
[0005] It is an object of the preset invention to provide a method
and apparatus which ameliorates one or more of the abovementioned
disadvantages associated with the prior art.
[0006] The above description of the prior art is not intended to
be, nor should it be interpreted as, an indication of the common
general knowledge pertaining to the invention, but rather to assist
the person skilled in the art in understanding the developmental
process which lead to the invention.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is
provided a method for mounting a roof anchor on a roof support
structure having an underside surface, said roof fully or partially
covered with roof covering material, said roof anchor including an
attachment means and a shaft, said method including the steps
of:
[0008] a) Making a fist hole in the covering material and the roof
support structure, which first hole is capable of receiving the
shaft,
[0009] b) Forming an aperture in the roving material adjacent the
first hole and the roof support structure;
[0010] c) Inserting an anchor block, having a second hole capable
of fixedly engaging so the shaft, through the aperture and locating
the anchor block at the underside surface such that the first and
second holes are in registry, and
[0011] d) Inserting the shaft through hot the fist and second holes
whereby to fixedly engage the roof anchor to the anchor block, such
that the roof anchor is mounted on the roof support structures.
[0012] The roof anchor includes any suitable means for anchoring a
safety harness, rope, harness or like means of securing a workman
to the roof support structure to enable to workman to work safely
on the roof The roof anchor may stand proud of the external
covering of the roof to present attachment means suitable for
securing a safety harness, rope or the like thereto.
[0013] The attachment means may comprise one or more salients to
which a rope or cable may be secured. The salient may terminate in
a bulbous portion to prevent the rope, etc. from working free of
the salient In more conventional roof anchors, the attachment means
comprises a U or eye bolt to which the safety harness is securely
connected.
[0014] An example of a roof anchor which may be used in the present
invention is described in international application No.
PCT/AU98/00968 the entire contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
[0015] The shaft may be integrally formed with the attachment means
or may be made separately and fixed to the attachment means prior
to application. The attachment means may be threadably fixed to the
shaft as is standard in the art whereby the fixing means includes a
male threaded portion and a female threaded socket portion.
Preferably, the male threaded portion forms part of the shaft and
the female threaded socket portion is found in the attachment
means. The threaded socket may be machined after the attachment
means is formed or may be formed by a threaded insert securable to
a pre-existing bore in the attachment means.
[0016] The shaft may be in the form of a bolt the free end of which
is threaded for fixed engagement to the anchor block.
Alternatively, the shaft may include at its free end spreadable
wings adapted for insertion through the second hole thereafter
spreadable to engage the underside of the anchor block. However, in
the preferred form the shaft includes a threaded bolt section
adapted for threaded engagement in the second hole of the anchor
block.
[0017] The roof support structure may include a rafter, purlin or
any other form of the roof framework or truss capable of supporting
the potentially considerable load which may be placed on the
structure in the event of workman falling and relying on the
arrangement of the present invention to arrest his fall. The
structure may be a purlin. The purlin may have a solid rectangle,
C- or channel cross-sectional shape. In the case of a C-purlin, it
will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that only a
relatively short shaft may be necessary to extend through the
covering material and, the portion of the purlin to which the roof
anchor is to be mounted through to the anchor block. Where the roof
anchor is to be mounted onto a roof support structure of
considerable thickness, such as may be the case where a solid
wooden beam is involved, the shaft will need to be correspondingly
of longer dimensions to extend through the structure to its
underside surface.
[0018] The anchor block may be planar and may be circular, square
or any other geometrical shape. Preferably the anchor block is
elongate in plan view whereby the block is longer in one dimension
in proportion to its width. Accordingly, the anchor block may be of
a flat oval shape or, more preferably, may have a planar
rectangular shape. Preferably, the anchor block is sufficiently
narrow in width to require only a small aperture to be formed in
the covering material to enable the anchor block's insertion
therethrough and sufficiently long lengthwise to sit neatly against
the underside surface of the top arm of a C-purlin. The anchor
block is preferably prevented from rotation in a horizontal plane
where the roof anchor is to be mounted on, for example, a
C-purlin.
[0019] It will be appreciated, however, by the person skilled in
the art that there are a large variety of configurations and
dimensions of anchor blocks which would satisfy the functional
requirement of providing a means for fixed engagement to the free
end of the shaft. Notwithstanding this, in a preferred form the
anchor block includes a threaded bore suitable to receive a
threaded bolt for fixed engagement thereto. The threaded bore may
be formed by an insert when forming the anchor block by moulding or
may be achieved by means of placing a threaded insert into a
cylindrical or otherwise scored bore. The treaded bore may be
formed by machining as is standard in the art.
[0020] Preferably, the method of the invention is cried out using a
hand tool adapted to control the orientation of the anchor block.
The hand tool may be elongate and may include a handle and an
elongate rod capable of supporting the anchor block at its free
end.
[0021] The rod may hold the anchor block substantially immovable
relative to the rod by means of a clamp. The clamp may be adapted
to rotate the anchor block to determine its orientation.
Preferably, the rod is provided with a hook end upon which the
anchor block may be suspended. The anchor block may be capable of
swivelling relative to the rod whereby to enable the anchor block
to be inserted through the a e in one orientation and, once having
cleared the aperture to swivel to a second orientation under the
influence of gravity, for example.
[0022] The anchor block may include a pivot hole capable of
receiving the free end of the rod loosely therein whereby to allow
the anchor block to freely rotate about the free end. The pivot
hole is preferably located at a point which is a centre of balance
for the block whereby, when suspended using the pivot hole the
anchor block assumes an orientation suitable to facilitate its
placement against the underside surface.
[0023] The rod may terminate in a number of configurations.
Preferably the rod terminates in a portion extending in a direction
traverse or opposite to a main portion of the rod connected to the
handle. This may allow the anchor block to be manoeuvred around
interior roof surfaces to place the block anchor in position at the
underside surface. Such an interior structure may include a
downwardly extending portion of a C-purlin.
[0024] The aperture is preferably formed by cutting a hole through
the covering material. The cutting apparatus will vary depending on
the type of coven material. For example, the aperture may be formed
by a cylindrical saw or a jigsaw. The aperture so is preferably as
small as possible while still permitting the passage of the anchor
block and may be too small to permit the insertion of an operator's
hand, for example.
[0025] The invention may include the placement of a weatherproofing
cover about the shaft to seal the first hole against the ingress of
wind and rain. The weather seal may cover the also. The weather
seal may be applied before or after the mounting of the roof anchor
to the support structure.
[0026] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a hand
tool and anchor block combination for use in mounting the roof
anchor according to the method described above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The invention will be better understood from the following
non-limiting description of an embodiment of the present invention
with reference to the drawings in which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the roof anchor and anchor
block combination according to one embodiment of the invention,
[0029] FIG. 2 is a side view of a band tool according to one
embodiment of the invention,
[0030] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an anchor block according to
one embodiment of the invention;
[0031] FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a roof structure
applicable to the present invention;
[0032] FIGS. 5 to 7 are side views of the hand tool and anchor
block combination showing the method of insertion of the anchor
block through the aperture and its location against the underside
surface according to one embodiment of the invention; and
[0033] FIG. 8 is a side view of a roof anchor mounted to a roof
structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a roof anchor 10
including an eyelet 12 and a shaft 14 welded at one end to the
eyelet 12. The shaft 14 is tapered toward the connection with to
eyelet 12 and includes a potion of constant diameter at its free
end. The portion of constant diameter includes a threaded portion
16. The roof anchor 10 is threadably engageable in an anchor block
20.
[0035] The anchor block 20 includes a second hole 22 indicated in
dotted outline which is adapted to threadably receive the treaded
bolt portion 16 and an anchor block body 24. Prior to mounting the
roof anchor 10, the anchor block 20 is located against the
underside surface 32 of a C-purlin (see later).
[0036] In a preferred arrangement, a cone lock nut 18 is located as
a sleeve around the shaft 14 and adds to the load braking capacity
of the roof anchor 10 as described in international patent
application No. PCT/AU98/00968. The cone lock nut 18 has a wide
base tapering upwards towards the eyelet 12. The cone lock nut 18
may be threadably engageable to the threaded portion 16, but is
preferably an unthreaded sheath with an oversized bore such that it
rests on the upper surface of the covering material (not shown).
Shrouding the lower portion of the shaft 14 is a weather seal 34
which provides a canopy protecting the first hole (see later) and
the aperture (see later). The weather seal 34 may be made from a
suitably malleable material such as lead and preferably is cone
shaped to facilitate run off.
[0037] Turning to FIG. 2, there is shown a hand tool 40 including a
handle portion 42, a rod portion 44 and a hook portion 46. The hook
portion 46 is channel shaped and terminates in an upstanding
salient 48. The salient 48 is adapted to be inserted in an
oversized pivot hole 26 in the anchor block 20. The pivot hole 26
is centrally located on tee block body 24 along the anchor blocks
20 centre of balance. The pivot hole 26 is oversized to enable the
anchor block 20 to rotate freely about the salient 48 whereby to
assume a horizontal orientation at rest.
[0038] With reference now to FIG. 4, there is shown a roof sort
framework including transfer rafters 36 supported by a C-purlin 30.
The roof covering material is not shown for convenience.
[0039] According to the method of one embodiment of the invention a
first hole 50 is drilled through the covering material and the
C-purlin 30 at a location which it is desired to mount a roof
anchor 10 immediately adjacent the first hole 50 and the C-purlin
30 an aperture is cut in the roof covering material to provide
access to the underside surface of the top arm of the C-purlin 30.
Clearly it is important to locate the aperture 38 on the open side
of the C-purlin 30 to enable access to the underside surface
32.
[0040] Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, the anchor block 20 is suspended
on the hand tool 40 by locating the salient 48 in the pivot hole 26
such that the anchor block 20 is free to swivel thereon. The anchor
block 20 is manually oriented lengthwise such that its longitudinal
access is substantially vertical.
[0041] Once having cleared the aperture 38 the anchor block 20
rights itself by swivelling about the axis defined by pivot hole 26
to achieve an orientation whereby its longitudinal axis is
substantially horizontal. The hand tool 40 is rotated by the
operator as shown in FIG. 6 and lied up into the cavity defined by
the upper arm of the C-purlin 30 so that the anchor block 20 fits
snugly against the underside surface 32 and the first and second
holes are in alignment as shown in FIG. 7.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 8, the fully mounted roof anchor 10 is
shown in which the shaft 14 has been inserted through a central
aperture in the weather seal 34, the cone lock nut 18 and the first
hole 50 and threadably engaged in the second hole 22 of the anchor
block 20. The weather seal 34 is sufficiently wide to effectively
cover the aperture 38 made in the roof covering material 39.
[0043] A rope or safety harness (not shown) may then be fixedly
attached to the eyelet 10 whereby to secure a worker against an
inadvertent fall whilst working on the roof 39.
[0044] It will appreciated that any modifications and variations
may be made to the embodiments described herein by those skilled in
the art without departing the spirit or scope of the invention.
[0045] Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise"
and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than
exclusive mug unless the context requires otherwise.
[0046] Industrial Applicability
[0047] It will be immediately apparent to persons skilled in the
art that the roof anchor may provide an anchor point for a variety
of activities cried out on roofs. For example, the roof anchor may
provide an anchor point for posts supporting fences or other
barriers erected for the safety of workmen working on die roof or
may be used to secure equipment associated with the actual work on
the roof. Moreover, the roof anchor may provide an anchor point for
fittings such as solar panels or water heaters required to be
mounted on the roof.
* * * * *